The funny thing is, it probably wouldn't have bothered me much, if at all, if it had been a Latina calling me "Anglo." Mainly because "Anglo" just means something different in most Western-Hemisphere Spanish-speaking cultures than it does outside that context, but also because, well, *I'm* not Latina.
One of the insidious internalised-racism things that the Native communities get is people with more white blood being treated, or feeling like they're being treated, as less Native by those with less white blood. Even if it's a matter of 1/4 versus 1/2, though certainly it gets worse as you approach 1/16 versus 3/4. (And then there are the tribes where BIA-appointed -- yeah, unfortunately you read that right -- tribal figureheads have historically been either the whitest by blood, or the whitest-acting, or both, and they would marginalise or even disenfranchise those who were fuller-blooded and/or more inclined to hold to traditional ways... you can imagine the sorts of resentments that built up in those nations.) There really aren't any nations left in the 48 "continental" US states that don't have at least as many part-bloods as full-bloods, and the Cherokee are no exception. Heck, the person standing next to me who was lumped in with Mankiller's "Anglo" slur has enough Cherokee blood to live on the Eastern nation's reservation (and traces descent from the Eastern, not the Western, branch) but has predominantly Scottish and Irish blood and, being pink-skinned and red-haired, looks rather less Native even than I do. To the casual observer.
And part of what incensed me so much, of course, was that she was a tribal leader, and damned well ought to know better than to assume *anyone* doesn't have Native blood. Most Nations used to be rather laissez-faire about adopting and/or marrying whites, blacks, Asians, members of other tribes, and anyone else who happened to be around and could fit in with the community. Too many of us have turned -- their backs, or their hatred, or both -- on their kin with noticeable amounts of the "wrong" blood.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-07-20 08:17 am (UTC)One of the insidious internalised-racism things that the Native communities get is people with more white blood being treated, or feeling like they're being treated, as less Native by those with less white blood. Even if it's a matter of 1/4 versus 1/2, though certainly it gets worse as you approach 1/16 versus 3/4. (And then there are the tribes where BIA-appointed -- yeah, unfortunately you read that right -- tribal figureheads have historically been either the whitest by blood, or the whitest-acting, or both, and they would marginalise or even disenfranchise those who were fuller-blooded and/or more inclined to hold to traditional ways... you can imagine the sorts of resentments that built up in those nations.) There really aren't any nations left in the 48 "continental" US states that don't have at least as many part-bloods as full-bloods, and the Cherokee are no exception. Heck, the person standing next to me who was lumped in with Mankiller's "Anglo" slur has enough Cherokee blood to live on the Eastern nation's reservation (and traces descent from the Eastern, not the Western, branch) but has predominantly Scottish and Irish blood and, being pink-skinned and red-haired, looks rather less Native even than I do. To the casual observer.
And part of what incensed me so much, of course, was that she was a tribal leader, and damned well ought to know better than to assume *anyone* doesn't have Native blood. Most Nations used to be rather laissez-faire about adopting and/or marrying whites, blacks, Asians, members of other tribes, and anyone else who happened to be around and could fit in with the community. Too many of us have turned -- their backs, or their hatred, or both -- on their kin with noticeable amounts of the "wrong" blood.